Page 59 of Five Alarm Kiss

“These aren’t mine!”

He raised his brows.

Fudge! That sounds horrible! Now he thinks I’m wearing someone else’s underwear.

“I mean, they’re mine,” she stammered. “I don’t wear other people’s underwear.”

Laurel felt like a bug under a microscope as Jake watched her die a slow death from embarrassment.

“Skye gave them to me.”

She was so rattled, it barely registered when he led her to an ambulance a few yards away. A female paramedic was standing next to it, going through the contents of a bag.

“But they’renothers!” Laurel quickly pointed out.

“Tori, you got a blanket?” Jake asked the paramedic, while Laurel continued pleading her case.

“They were a gift, I swear!” Why in bells did she ever put the darn things on in the first place? It hadn’t been a conscious decision; she’d grabbed them out of the drawer after her shower and hadn’t thought twice about it. “Anunwantedgift,” she added for good measure.

Jake took the blanket from Tori and wrapped it around Laurel’s shoulders.

“I think they’re hot,” he said, pulling the sides of the material together in front of her so she could hold it. His fingers brushed against her breasts in the process.

She sucked in a sharp breath and protectively crisscrossed the blanket across her chest. She didn’t know if the contact had been accidental or not, but it still made her tremble and her never-wearing-them-again-hussy-panties damp.

Desire and shame collided when she realized she was standing next to the man she’d been fantasizing about while she’d been…

Her humiliation meter hit overload. She took a quick step back, refusing to look at him. Her cheeks were burning hotter than the flames inside, so she knew she had to be red as the firetruck they were standing behind in the parking lot. Shecould probably make a lobster look pale.

Wait.Firetruck?

“Is Mr. Wilkins okay?” she asked, finally remembering where she was. She started scanning the immediate area, searching for him. “Is everybody okay?”

“I’m sure everyone’s fine,” he told her. “Your neighbor called when he smelled smoke, and that was before the fire alarm went off.”

No wonder the fire department had gotten here so quickly. Well, that and the fact the fire station was only a few miles away.

Relief flooded her when she saw Mr. Wilkins and some of her other neighbors on the far side of the parking lot.

Thank goodness they were safe.

“Oh, fudgsicles!” The reality of the situation finally slapped her in the face. “The building is burning down because of me!”

“The building’s not burning down,” he assured her in a soothing tone. “I’m sure they’ve got it under control, if it isn’t already out.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He brushed an errant strand of blue out of her eyes. “It would’ve been easier to give me your address, though. You didn’t have to start a fire to get me to come over.”

Her jaw dropped. She must’ve looked like a broken nutcracker with it gaping open like it was.“What?I never! I would never!”

“Don’t worry. It can be our little secret.”

“Jake! I didn’t?—”

“It’s okay. I won’t tell.”

“Oh, my heck! I did not?—”

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